Leftovers<Dessert

We ordered Indian food to the office on Monday, and a small container of what tasted like a ginger & nutmeg rice pudding was included in the bag.  It was quite tasty so I started looking up recipes for ginger rice pudding and almost immediately stumbled upon this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/dining/143mrex-web.html

I realized, “Hey, we’ve got a whole bunch of rice left over from the Indian food, as well as milk, butter and sugar in the office.  All I’d need to bring in are a couple of eggs and that fresh ginger root I’ve been trying to decide what to do with, and Voila! Rice pudding for the whole office!  I’ll comment on how it turns out later, but I couldn’t help but notice the link in this recipe to this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/dining/14mini.html?ref=dining

Time was whenever you had leftovers and didn’t know what to do with ‘em, you made soup.  Guess there is more than one way to repurpose dinner.  Using day-old bagels for bread pudding is old hat to me, but I’m curious to see what other fun creations can be made in the kitchen.  Anyone else have any fun food ideas on what to do with otherwise boring leftovers?

Steaking it up for Tommy’s Birthday

Noticed that your typical BBQ fare was way on sale at Ralphs yesterday (probably post holiday weekend leftovers) so I purchased a 3 pound London Broil (which is apparently fancy talk for skirt steak) for 6ish dollars, which was a great deal.  Because it was the roomie’s birthday, I thought it might be nice to cook him something different, and we’ve only experimented with steak once before, so I decided to give it a go.  I also thought it might be a good excuse to try out a steak in the new skillet since up to now its really only cooked ground chuck.  So, the steak was cut in half and the broiler was turned to high.  I greased up the skillet with olive oil and placed it in the oven above the broiler so it could get all nice and hot.  In the meantime I started seasoning the other cut, first with lemon juice, then garlic salt and Montreal Steak Seasoning (Lowry’s brand, I believe, the one without any Hydrogenated soy bean oil in it).   I rubbed some olive oil into the meat and then a few dashes of Worcester sauce.  This cut I placed in a Pyrex dish on top of a half a sliced onion and 5 cloves of smashed garlic.  On top I poured maybe 1/2 cup of red wine.  Probably a mistake because I realized the wine started to wash off all the careful seasoning I’d prepared.  So I added a little more garlic salt (I’ve found with steaks it pays to be generous with the seasonings) and some ground rosemary.  Under the broiler it went, 3 minutes on one side, turn, 2 minutes on side two, turn, add pat of butter and cook for 1-2 minutes, and just to be safe I turned it once more and added a 2nd pat, 60 more seconds and Voila, it was ready to be cooled.  Now, while that magic was happening, I had seasoned the second cut with just the steak seasoning and some of the garlic salt.  This one was a quick and easy cook, dropped it onto the skillet and popped it back into the oven then listened to the satisfying his of crackling meat.  About 3 minutes on each side, then the pat of butter trick made this a decent steak to be enjoyed, though sadly, it still needed a bit of seasoning.  My skillet has a long way to go, I suppose.

I had hoped to make sandwiches with these, but the meat had not marinated so it was a bit on the tough side.  Since we had no tomatoes, and because I was feeling saucy, I spread some mild salsa from a bottle (yes, I know, epicureans commence with wailing and teeth gnashing) on a piece of shepherds bread then topped with a few slices of Brie and popped this into the toaster oven.  With the sliced steak on top of this and some of the onions from the cooking dish, the combination of flavors actually turned out really well.

Lessons for next time: Marinate your meat in the morning if you’re going to cook it at night (insert juvenile joke here) and poor the wine around the meat, not directly on top of it.    Not a bad dinner overall.

Ginger Wine?

I was struck when reading this article today:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger_wine

I’ve tried Canton, and a number of different ales and beers, but never a wine made w/ ginger.  It makes me curious.  I’ll have to head down to Vendome and see if they carry it.  I’m sure it would be ideal for a warm, mulled drink.  Anyone ever had the pleasure of trying this before?

Dessert Tinkering

Had D’s mother over for dinner the other night, and served a ham and brie quiche and some steamed broccoli and garlic bread (many thanks to my roommate and my lovely lady for all the help in the kitchen). My piece de resistance was to be dessert. I had gleaned some ideas at my local supermarket when I saw recipe cards for baked/poached pears in the produce section. Since delicious apples (both golden and red) were on sale I decided to improvise with them. I peeled and quartered the apples, removing the cores then drizzled a bit of maple syrup over the pieces. These I topped with allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then some ground pecans and a few bits of butter to prevent burning. Placing these in a pie tin I filled said tin about 1/4 full with some Kirkland Brand Tawny Port (not particularly good for drinking, but it was cheap and I figured it would do the trick for cooking), covered the tins and placed them in a 375 oven for about an hour. The apples came out smelling and looking wonderful. I sprinkled coarse salt and raw sugar and D was kind enough to whip up some vanilla cream to top along with a whole pecan or two. They were well received but my complaint was that they seemed a bit too sweet to me. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I might do to make this a little more user friendly? I’m thinking lose the raw sugar and possibly even the maple syrup as the port and the apples may be sweet enough. Also considering ground ginger to add a little kick. One last question, any words on whether its necessary to cover this dish while you cook it? Would it be better uncovered (nuts always taste better toasted) or would that run the risk of evaporating all the wine and making a sticky, inedible mess? I look to my fellow gourmands for advice.  Rest assured I will be making this recipe again, and then I can post pictures.

Winter Picnic

A good deal of my regular gang of geekery was unable to attend Trek Tuesday yesternight, and an overabundance of work activity left me bereft of ideas for dinner. Luckily, my old college pal and former roommate, Dan, mentioned warm bread and olive oil and immediately my mind was made up.
Our spread was simple yet satisfying: A Panera baked ciabatta loaf warmed in the toaster oven for a few minutes, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic with a few spices for dipping, strips of pecorino and Red Leicester (good British cheddar-like cheese), some kalamata olives and a few cocktail onions, and voila!  A feast fit for peasants!

Stir Fry

I dont think we got any photos of it, but Tuesday is Trek night and we try to have a theme for dinner where all participants bring an ingredient and we find a way to get everyone fed. Last night was Stir Fry night!
We started with strips of fresh chicken breast, sauteed in vegetable oil in that huge wok that rarely sees the light of day. I spiced it up with garlic salt, pepper, smoked paprika, some celery seed, a bit of rosemary and some tumeric for fun. To this we added diced red and orange bell pepper, celery, and one diced clementine, peel and all. Apparently citrus with thin peels (like tangerines) can be cooked and made edible quite easily. We stir fried this for a bit and then I added just a few slivers of fresh ginger root for fun, and a heavy amount of sesame seeds. I was planning on throwing in some cashews too, but forgot. Served over rice and it got some good reactions from the crowd. May have been better with soy sauce or some sugar to cut down the tart of the clementine peel but overall great!

Leftovers continue

Last night was an interesting experiment; D had brought over half a baguette which, due to my engrossment in a great Peter Jackson film, I’d neglected to properly put away. 20 hours later its a bit on the stale side, but not beyond salvation. Split lengthwise, and filled with leftover taco blend (ground beef, onion, red bell pepper, garlic powder and cumin, sauteed) topped with some shredded cheddar and a few green onions and tomatoes, then warmed well in a toaster oven made it a crunchy taco roll. Granted the baguette was small so I had to divide the ingredients between the two halves, but this happy amalgam serves as one more reminder to buy baguettes more often. Side note: cranberry relish w/ ground beef, not a bad combo. The sweet tang reminds me of the Tajine we had in Morocco. Is there a meat that cranberries wouldn’t be good with….

Leftovers

I’ve been told that my posts are too long, so here’s an attempt at haiku-inizing an entry.
Melted cheddar graces sourdough sliced
Tupping turkey JD BBQ glazed
Cole Slaw showers above

Giving Thanks

Spent Wednesday night after work in the kitchen cooking up two different versions of cranberry relish. The first was a simple recipe, cook down a 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries w/ 3/4 cup sugar, then add 4 tablespoons dijon mustard, 2 tblsps whole grain dijon. At first this seemed like a great idea, and it did give the cranberries a certain bite that will no doubt taste great on leftover turkey sandwiches. However, were I to remake this, I’d cut down the dijon quotient by half, as it really dominated the flavor on day 2. The second was another simple but pleasing recipe, cranberries, chopped celery and toasted almond slivers. The almond flavor really came through on this one, though it perhaps would have been better in larger proportions. Both these recipes came from Conde Naste publications, the now defunct Gourmet (sadly, their last issue) and Bon Appetit. From the same magazines I culled my two stuffing recipes, one a traditional made with sourdough, apple pieces, onions, celery, pork sausage (I substituted chicken), golden raisins and sage infused butter (I’m guessing when it comes to fresh sage, you shouldn’t use the stems-They were difficult to cut through, I can imagine they would not be pleasing to the tooth, so I took a few extra moments to shuck the leaves off). The other recipe was a bit simpler, calling for onion, and rye bread as well as caraway seeds cooked in butter, this one was an interesting twist on an otherwise boring recipe. Both cooked in chicken broth (the former suggesting some eggs blended into the broth which I think actually helped keep the moisture content up) and the first was definitely better received than the second. I guess some folks don’t like their traditional meals being tampered with on their traditional holidays (shrug). I got both loaves from Panera right across from the Red Line in NoHo. I was tempted to drive to Valley Village and visit one of the Kosher bakeries, but this was on my walk home, so I did the green thing and saved gas.  The cranberries were purchased at Ralph’s, 2 bags for 4 bucks, not bad for being “Fresh from the Bog!” I was thinking about heading back there this weekend to see if the sales are ridiculous, and maybe buying a few more to freeze for later use.
Thanksgiving itself was a pleasant meal, aside from the occasional screeching from a few of the lady hens sitting at my table. C & J and their roomates put on a great spread, tons of gravy, 2 turkeys, one brined, apparently, which lead to some very succulent meat (thanks Trader Joes!) more stuffing than we knew what to do with, (Meg and Jay brought their own which was stovetop but w/ apples and raisins added, and the hosts had cooked up an enormous amount) brown & serve roles, fruit salad(a kind of whipped cream, marshmallow version which looked awful but tasted terribly wonderful), mashed potatoes (of course) which showed up almost an hour late (the pains of having a potluck Thanksgiving), corn and green bean casserole. We all took turns speaking our reasons for being Thankful this year, and then we gorged ourselves silly. Then there was dessert! By this point I was so full I couldn’t see straight, but I know D brought some tasty pumpkin tarts (w/ whipped cream and chocolate on top) and there was a homemade pecan pie which I’m sure I enjoyed, because I kept taking bites of it, despite the fact that I was ready to burst.  Overall, not a bad holiday.

White House State Dinner

The President and his wife hosted a delegation from India yesterday in the Obama’s first State Dinner.  For those who have not had the pleasure of watching the West Wing,  State Dinner’s are huge affairs (read logistical nightmares) with fancy dresses and beautiful table settings, often with some kind of wheeling and dealing happening in the kitchen via translators.  But shining above the black ties and honorable titles has always been the menu, turned out by the gourmet chefs that toil night and day to keep the First Family (and every other employee in the building) fed.  I’m always curious to see what heads of state are being fed by the “most powerful cooks” in the world.  Being that India was being hosted, I imagine beef wouldn’t be on the menu, and vegetables would be highlighted, but thanks to sphere.com I dont have to wonder anymore.   I’ll paste it below.

My dinner was a little less glamorous but inventive nonetheless.  The recently absent house guest/Canadian Citizen brother was kind enough to leave some of his vittles in the freezer when he returned to the great white North, this included a few turkey burgers which I’ve been loath to find ways to make interesting.  Last night I was inspired.  I defrosted a patty, seasoned with garlic salt, pepper, sage,  and a tiny pinch of cumin, and fried it in the little saucepan we use in place of a skillet.  While that browned, I toasted up some English toasting bread, topped it with a slice of smoked gouda, then layered it open faced with the turkey burger on the cheese (for maximum meltability) and some dry cole slaw from a package (I know, I know, I’m a sinner for not slap-chopping my own cole slaw mix, but some of us have to work until 6 o’clock, and I wanted to eat before sunrise).  Topped this with a generous amount of blue cheese dressing and a few dashes of Red Rooster Louisiana Hot Sauce, and a few celery sticks on the side.  It was a knife and fork kind of meal, but a tasty one at that, and went down easy with some Taproom No.21 and an episode of Arrested Development.  Tonight I get to start my Thanksgiving cooking which I’ll be sure to report on later this weekend.

White House State Dinner Menu

November 24, 2009

Potato and Eggplant Salad
White House Arugula w/ Onion Seed Vinaigrette
2008 Savingnon Blanc, Modus Operandi, Napa Valley

Red Lentil Soup with Fresh Cheese
2006 Riesling, Brooks “Ara”, Wilamette Valley

Roast Potato Dumplings with tomato chutney, chick peas and okra
(or)
Green Curry Prawns with caramelized salsify with smoked collard greens and coconut aged basmati
2007 Granache Beckman Vineyards, Santa Ynez, CA

Pumpkin pie tart
Pear tatin
Whipped cream and caramel sauce
Sparkling Chardonnay, Thibaut Janisson Brut, Monticello, VA

Petits fours and Coffee
Cashew Brittle
Pecan Pralines
Passion fruit and vanilla gelees
Chocolate dipped fruit